


A Father's Pride

by ioanite



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy, The Lion King (1994)
Genre: Advice, Community: disney_kink, Crack, Crossover, Gen, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 10:52:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3444422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ioanite/pseuds/ioanite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's never a bad thing to ask for advice. In this case, though, the one asking for advice and the one giving it are a bit...unusual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Father's Pride

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt:
> 
> "Darth Vader has just found out he has a son. He goes to Mufasa for parenting tips."

“Sire?” Zazu said nervously, poking his head into the mouth of the cave.

“Yes, Zazu, what is it?” Mufasa said, smiling a little in an attempt to reassure his majordomo. It apparently hadn’t worked, because Zazu wrung his wings as he said “There’s a human outside who wants to speak with you.”

“A human?” Mufasa repeated, curious, “One of ‘ours’?” Sometimes humans who fell under the “Disney” property wandered in for a chat, and there’d been a flurry of activity a while back when they’d gotten some oddly-drawn arrivals who’d come round to gawk, but mostly, the lions were left to themselves.

“No, sire. I think he’s one of the most recent arrivals. To be quite honest, I don’t trust him. He won’t show his face, and his breathing is augmented in some way. Besides, he’s dressed all in black. Isn’t that generally the color of villains?”

Mufasa chuckled. “Maybe so, but we’re all under a truce when we’re not performing, remember? I doubt he means us any harm.” He got to his feet and moved to the cave mouth to get a look at his visitor. Zazu followed reluctantly and pointed down with a wing. “There he is.”

Even from atop Pride Rock, Mufasa had to admit that the man cut quite the imposing figure. The breathing Zazu had mentioned was audible from several feet away, and that face mask _was_ a little unsettling. But he smiled and inclined his head, like a good king. “I’m told you wished to see me?” he said.

The man hesitated for a moment, before his head bobbed in a nod of its own. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” he said, in a deep, resounding voice that sounded oddly familiar, for some reason, “I was wondering if I could buy you a drink. I have certain matters I wish to discuss with you.”

“I’m flattered,” Mufasa answered, “It’s not very often I’m invited for social events like this. But at the very least, I’d like to know who I’ll be drinking with.”

Despite the mask covering his face, Mufasa was sure that the man was surprised by the statement, as if he didn’t hear it all that often. “I am known as Darth Vader.”

“An odd name for an odd man.” Zazu muttered. Mufasa silenced him with a glare and started to climb down Pride Rock. “It’s good to meet you,” he said as he got closer to the ground, “I imagine you already know my name, considering you came to seek me out, but my name is Mufasa. Are you a ruler of some sort?”

Vader (Mufasa couldn’t quite bring himself to call the man by his first name; there was something menacing about it) shook his head. “I serve a man who will one day rule the galaxy. That is more than enough for me.”

Mufasa reached the ground and inclined his head. “Lead the way. I imagine you know the best place for a human and a lion to drink together.”  
***

Track This  
“It’s like this, Mufasa.” Vader said after his third drink. Mufasa wasn’t exactly sure how the man was even able to drink, since he hadn’t even made an attempt to take off his helmet, but he was clearly managing it. It was a little hard to tell through those regulated breaths, but the man’s voice was getting markedly slurred. Mufasa raised his head from the flavored water he’d ordered and looked at Vader intently, knowing they were getting to the heart of the matter. Vader hesitated for another moment before saying,

“I’ve been busy with my work for the emperor, focused on helping him consolidate his power. Generally, I don’t have time to listen to rumors. But one rumor finally became impossible to ignore, so I had men look into it. It turns out…” a pause, a sip of his drink, another one of those deep breaths, “that I have a son.”

Mufasa’s eyes widened in faint surprise. It seemed hard to imagine this imposing looking man having a wife, let alone a family. Still, appearances could be deceiving. “Well, is that something you want?” He said at last.

“I wasn’t sure at first,” Vader admitted, “But now I’ve warmed up to the idea. The problem is, I’m unsure how to go about reconnecting with him.”

“How old is he?”

“I don’t know his exact age, but he’s mostly grown up. Sixteen at the youngest.”

“And does he know about you?”

Vader took a long pull on his drink. “No. I haven’t had any contact in his life. I wasn’t even there when he was born.”

“Hmm…” Mufasa considered. “I’m afraid I won’t be the greatest help; I don’t get a lot of chances to interact with _my_ grown-up son. But I’ll give you what little advice I can.”

“That would be deeply appreciated.” Vader said gratefully. Mufasa lapped at his water for a minute, turning things over. Finally, he reached out and gently lay a paw on the man’s knee.

“The best advice I can offer for the moment it to take it slow. If he’s never met you, he’ll probably be distrustful of you. Try to introduce yourself politely, and be prepared for him to be angry, or confused. Be patient with him, and give him time to process everything. Answer any questions he may have. Hopefully, he’ll grow to trust you.”

“And what do I do then?” Vader asked, as he got a fresh drink.

“Plan a trip and go someplace, just the two of you. Make it a place where you can both have your space, but where there are plenty of things to do together. Then just let him direct proceedings, so he knows that you respect his privacy and his opinions. I don’t promise immediate results, but as long as you don’t rush things, there’s a good chance he’ll be willing to spend more time with you in the future.”

“Thank you, Mufasa.” Vader said, the slur in his words even more obvious now, but he also sounded happier. He leaned forward, wobbling slightly. “I’m going over to Cloud City in a few days on official business. Maybe I can send my son a message to come, and then wait for an appropriate time to introduce myself.”

“That’s the spirit!” Mufasa smiled, “You’ll have to come back and tell me how it goes.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Vader said, getting to his feet, the wobbling even more apparent, “But I may be too busy. I have much to plan.”

“Easy, easy…” Mufasa leaned against Vader’s legs to keep him upright, “I’ll call you a taxi. You’re in no condition to be walking anywhere.”

Somehow, he managed to get Vader into a taxi, and waved him off with a “Good luck!” Chuckling to himself, he turned in the opposite direction, retracing his steps towards Pride Rock. Vader certainly seemed sincere about reconnecting with his son. Mufasa just hoped that he hadn’t been too drunk to forget all of the advice he’d been given. Still, despite all appearances, Vader seemed like a reasonable man. One way or another, Mufasa was sure he would find a way to make it work.


End file.
